What temperature do you set your heat to?

Jan 30, 2013 1:28 PM

My wife and I bought our first house in October, a snazzy mid-century modern wonder from 1942. Most of the construction is original, so it is not the most energy-efficient house in the world. Luckily, we have gas heat, forced air-style.

We live in Massachusetts, and the winter is, well, wintry. My wife, who works from home, has been setting the temperature at 70 degrees, and is uncomfortable most of the day; she is reluctant to raise the heat because she has heard that 70 is the norm, and doesn't want a big bill.

Top Answers

Wow, 77 degrees for heat? That is pretty ridiculous. We set ours to 68 when we're home, 58 when we're sleeping or at work. I have an automatic schedule set in my thermostat that works out nicely. If you have a proper humidifier running, 68 degrees is all you need if you wear a sweater or sweatshirt around the house. We also only heat the rooms we use, and turn off the heat to the other bedrooms if nobody is using them to keep our costs down. I'd say if you don't have a humidifier, look into those, the difference was like night and day for us.

Man, I would love to live in any of your houses.
I have our thermostat set for 63 when we're there, and 60 when we're not. It doesn't seem like a big difference, but you can tell.
I have no problem walking around in a shirt and sweats. My fiance, on the other hand, she'll complain every once-in-a-while. That's when I say, "Do you want to be super warm now, or do you want to go on a nice honeymoon? Put on a sweater." and she usually puts on a sweater =P

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Wow, 77 degrees for heat? That is pretty ridiculous. We set ours to 68 when we're home, 58 when we're sleeping or at work. I have an automatic schedule set in my thermostat that works out nicely. If you have a proper humidifier running, 68 degrees is all you need if you wear a sweater or sweatshirt around the house. We also only heat the rooms we use, and turn off the heat to the other bedrooms if nobody is using them to keep our costs down. I'd say if you don't have a humidifier, look into those, the difference was like night and day for us.

We do in the 68-71 range.
I'll run the woodstove if it's going to be < 32 during the day or < 40 for a few days in a row.
That puts the main living area 75-85 without supplemental heat when it's going, depending on how much wood I want to go through.

I wouldn't mind dropping it a little more to save for $$, but I can't stand walking around the house all bundled up.

When we're home and awake it's set at 67. Then it automatically goes down to 61 at night and 65 while we're at work. (We have pets so we want to keep them happy.)
I am a little uncomfortable at 67 but I just throw on a robe and it's all good.

Man, I would love to live in any of your houses.
I have our thermostat set for 63 when we're there, and 60 when we're not. It doesn't seem like a big difference, but you can tell.
I have no problem walking around in a shirt and sweats. My fiance, on the other hand, she'll complain every once-in-a-while. That's when I say, "Do you want to be super warm now, or do you want to go on a nice honeymoon? Put on a sweater." and she usually puts on a sweater =P

68 in the winter when I'm home, 62 at night and when I'm away. If I'm cold I put on a Woot sweatshirt. Decreasing the thermostat by 3 degrees will save (according to the DOE) 10% on your bill.

Since you have gas heat you are spared most of the pain that your oil using neighbors are feeling, but it's still expensive. Your best bet would be to see if there are any measure that you can take in the spring/summer to weatherize the house (increase insulation, replace windows, etc) to decrease the heating bill and make it less drafty. There may be federal and/or state tax breaks for doing so.

77 is NOT normal, unless you mean in the summertime. Then I usually keep the house at 80.

Automatically set to warm up to 70 in the morning, then drop to 65 during the day (while at work).
Kicks back in to 70 right before we get home from work.
Drops to 62 at night.
I'll occasional -- like once a week, maybe, bump it to 71 or so if it seems chilly, but it reverts back to 70 after an hour or so.
FWIW, I live in IL.
70 (or lower) seems to be the norm, but a guy in my office keeps his at 73 and everyone around here thinks he's crazy for keeping it that warm...
Slippers and a long sleeve shirt do wonders.

Below 72 and I am cold, even wearing sweats and fuzzy house boots. I don't have a thermostat, I have a tiny 100 year old house with a gas heater in the floor between the living room and the dining room. The bedroom is an uninsulated addition (stucco rather than adobe like the rest of the house) with big windows and French doors. If I keep the bedroom door open it stays about 10 degrees below the rest of the house, but the heater can't get the house very warm. If I close the bedroom door the house will heat up well, but the bedroom is about the same temperature as outdoors. I turn off the heater at night and use an electric blanket. The cat sleeps on the electric blanket and the dog has triple stacked dog beds and I cover him with a doubled blanket when we go to bed. In the summer I have evaporative cooling. I run it till I am too cool then turn it off. Turn it back on when I get too hot.

We keep it 75-77 during the winter with our radiator heat, and 76-80 during the summer with our central air generally only on to dehumidify the house. I very staunchly believe that the highlight of owning one's own demesne is that one thus has the luxury of walking around in one's underoos if one wishes, without any cries of illegality or horror. This one does indeed wish--nay, demand!--this. So, HEAT. Of course, I do have to compromise. If it was purely up to me, it'd be about 80-85 at all times. But since there are other people living with me who are apparently not also cold-blooded reptiles, I've got to agree to the aforementioned temps. And also shirts. These people also demand I wear shirts. Which I have to, since it's only mid-70's and thus COLD, anyway. Oh, this first world hell in which I live. Woe! Woooooooooooe!!!

@goldenthorn: ROFLOL! One of the downsides to traveling with my two large male friends is that they insist on setting the hotel room thermostats to polar. They feel that one of the benefits to having a hotel room is to be able to make it as cold as they like. So even when we vacation in tropical climes, I have to pack warm clothes for the hotel room. OTOH, I remember being sent on a work trip one winter when I was broke and keeping my house uncomfortably cold to save on my gas bill. I kept the hotel room at like 90 and enjoyed the luxury of running around in my skivvies for three days in the balmy heat.

I work from home I usually set mine at 65 degrees, unless I'm sick. If I'm sick I wimp out and crank it to 70. I have oil heat though and it is very expensive right now. If I had gas heat I'd probably have my thermostat set much higher.

If your wife seems cold-natured compared to others, she might talk to her doctor. Also, she might get a portable heater or space heater for the room where she works sitting down, as her body temp will drop when sitting. The rest of the house will prob feel comfortable at 68-70 as long as she's on her feet. Also, since you are both new to the house, you will probably acclimate to the thermostat over time. You can assist the process by going walking for at least 10-15 minutes outside in the cold ever day. (longer walks acclimate you faster)

As for portable heaters, I like the oil-filled ones that look like a radiator. YMMV on that.

@f00l: Do those things need ventilation? Do they run on electricity? Are they painfully hot to touch like old fashioned radiators? I saw one on sale the other days and thought about getting it for my gaming room, but I don't know enough about them. We have a couple of toddlers and my big dog wandering the gaming room while we play, so I am looking for something safer than the space heater we currently use, but that doesn't pull a lot of electricity as my wiring is very old. I am perfectly healthy, I just get cold more easily than most people, and am far less bothered by the heat than most people. My average body temp is about 97.5 and my blood pressure swings between perfect and a little low, which I figure is probably the reason.

Heater? The temp here was in the 70s yesterday. We've only had to turn the heater on a few times this year. When we do, we try to keep it around 69 or 70. Some parts of the house stay cooler, but that's not a problem unless we are hanging out in those areas for long periods of time. We also keep a few space heaters available. I am willing to wear a comfie hoodie and slippers, if necessary. (Loaded up on slipper socks from deals I posted here.) The entire house doesn't have to be warm just for me to be comfy sitting in front of my computer.

@moondrake: Those oil heaters only need a few inches of space around them, so no ventilation is required. They just plug into an outlet and the internal heating element heats up the oil which makes the whole thing give off radiant heat. If you have them on a high setting, they can be painful to the touch, but only if you keep your hand on it for a while. Most of them will have 3 different settings that pull different amounts of electricity. If your breakers are prone to being tripped, you might be stuck with the lower (cooler) setting. I’d say go for it, they’re fairly cheap these days.

Edit: to answer the OP's question. We usually have our heat at 69. (if you know what I'm sayin'...but seriously 69 degrees just feels right)

We shelled out a few bucks for a 5+2 (settings for M-F and weekends) programmable thermostat.

We keep the house at 68 in the morning and evenings when home, let it drop to 62 while at work and 64 overnight while sleeping.

We keep the bed room cozy with the previously mentioned oil filled electric radiator set on low and temp. gauge set at about 2 o'clock. On low it does not get really hot, but if you put it up on high and cranked the gauge all the way up I would be a bit leery of toddlers, but I suspect they would bug off really quickly.

We also use a heated mattress pad, which I really prefer over an electric blanket.

I grew up in a house like you're describing except with oil. Our thermostat was set 70-75 most winter days, down to 65 at night. When I later lived in a different place with similar weather but no bitter-cold wet-wind blowing off the ocean, I found that I'd roast at 70-75. "Thermostat temperature" can vary wildly from house to house depending on its location, the idiosyncrasies of your house including the locations of the vents, etc. My advice is to figure out what works for you and don't be shamed by the "number" that other people use. However, it's also worth looking at other options besides turning up the heat: can you close vents in some rooms? Even if you're inland, the wet ocean wind is awful, so think about your window coverings especially in a MCM. Silk long underwear is great; thick socks/fingerless gloves make a huge difference. Since you're new to the house, consider doing an energy audit and checking for caulking around windows, insulating outlets, door "snakes," etc.

I agree about the oil-filled radiator heaters. Even on high, you'd have to touch them for a while to get a burn. No ventilation needed, as they have no emissions. I'd watch a toddler around them, but they're prob safer than other types of portable heaters. A puppy or kitten would also bear watching, but prob be safe. You could always "fence" such a heater with a baby gate or similar. They're pretty safe, and spozed to be efficient for a heater.

In the winter, when I actually have to use the heat (misplaced Michigander who landed in Texas), mine is set on 66 when I'm home and awake and 62 when I'm gone and at night. I tried setting it to 60 when I wasn't home but the cats stayed curled up in these little fuzzy balls glaring at me and refusing to leave the little nests they make with blankets on the couch or my bed. At 62 at least they glare a little little less.

I'm seeing a lot of 60s here. Brrr...no thanks. 72, year round. In the summer, it runs almost non stop to combat the triple digit heat. In the winter...lol winter in Texas, the heater comes on occasionally.

What the crap is wrong with you people? 68!? Burr. We set our house to 73 while we're home. 70 during the day while we're away (wife worries about the kitties getting cold), and 68 at night for sleep.

Who wants to wear a sweater or sweatshirt when you're home!? I spend 90% of my time at home in my underpants only. The moment I get home, cloths get put away. I know what you're thinking, yes, I keep cloths on when company is over.

On average we spend $125 for Gas & Electric each month through out the year (Heater is Gas, AC is electric).

The thermostat isn't always what your house stays at, as well. It all depends on where it's located. I'm pretty sure my thermostat is in one of the warmest spots in the house.

I live in Central Florida - sometimes it freezes here. Fortunately, it hasn't for a couple of years. But, the temp does drop to the upper 30's, lower 40's during Jan. & Feb.

I keep the (electric) heat set at 65 until I can no longer afford to keep it that warm. When it gets really cold, I set it at 60 or lower (or it would never turn off). AC is set at 80 or 82 - same reason. Too expensive to run it constantly.

Wiping smug look off my face. :-| Addendum to above: I think the high temp today was 84. Tomorrow's forecast - High between 61 and 65, depending on who you read/listen to. Confirmed: I will be cold tomorrow.

@bogie21 and @rprebel : Thanks for having my back on this one. All of these mid/upper 60s temps are not happening here. I get cold under 70 or so. I try to keep my thermostat set on 73 in the winter and 78 in the summer. Hot flashes from the ball-and-chain changes things occasionally, but not for long. :)

One thing everyone is overlooking- the impact on air pollution. I hate to sound like Al Gore but we can all chip in a little and stop being wasteful. And use an electric blanket so you can turn the thermostat down to 55 at night.

If you can find one, get a mercury thermometer and set it in the middle of the house. We've had a bunch of furnace installers/servicemen tell us that the thermometer on your thermostat is not right. My sister was kind of bragging that they had their thermometer set at 68. I knew she wouldn't survive at that temperature and told her to check a mercury thermometer. It said 72. We keep ours on 74 but it's really more like 72/73.

Egads. Seems like I'm in the minority but at least I'm not alone here.

Below 72 is cold to me, and if I had my way, it'll be set to 78 year round. At work, our thermostat is set to 70 and I'm cold. Currently in a down jacket at my desk. At home, I compromise with the mister and usually do 74.

I don't really have answer, but can tell you I live in Austin, Texas, now it is pretty cold 41degrees, my husband
is a monster and has a program thermostat controlling from his phone. Well all this winter in Austin
he has had it set at 71…..freezing, freezing when I get home from work, and at night. When summer is
here I burn up at 84 degrees. I don't know what his theory is on the thermostat but destroying our relationship .
Not to say he also has the program lock where I can not touch..

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